The case in summary A taxi driver was convicted of driving under the influence of cannabis, although the doctors who examined him believed he was not under the influence. The Supreme Court has recently ruled that the current “blood alcohol limit” for cannabis is legal, despite the fact that regular users can be over the limit several days after consumption. Many others pose a greater danger in traffic than people who get behind the wheel the day after they have smoked cannabis, according to expert Per-Ola Rike. Lawyer Torkjell Øvrebø believes that current practice is a legal scandal of great proportions. In a survey carried out by the user organization Normal Norway, 80 per cent answered that being deprived of a driver’s license had a major negative impact on mental health. – Is this what it means to be a criminal? It feels completely absurd, says “Kristian”. In less than two months, he was stopped in two drug tests when he was at work as a taxi driver in a large Norwegian city. The evenings before, Kristian had smoked cannabis, but he felt perfectly fine when he was stopped. Both times the police decided that he should go with him to the emergency room. They suspected that he was driving under the influence of drugs. The senior doctors at the emergency department concluded that Kristian was not affected by any of the clinical examinations. – I passed all tests, got my driver’s license back, and was driven back to my taxi by the police, before I was allowed to continue my working day. Nevertheless, he was convicted of driving under the influence, because the blood samples taken from him later showed traces of THC. The result from the first examination that was carried out at the emergency room. The result from the second examination that was carried out at the emergency room. Kristian is not his real name. He wants to talk about what he believes to be an unfair set of regulations, but does not dare to come forward with his name and picture because of the stigma attached to the use of cannabis. “Kristian” had worked as a taxi driver for eight years before he was stopped in a drug test while at work. He himself says that he has never had any reactions to how he drives. Photo: Benjamin Vorland Andersrød / news Today’s limit is legal In 2012, fixed limits were introduced for how much THC drivers can have in their blood when they are behind the wheel. THC is the most important active ingredient in cannabis. In December, the Supreme Court ruled that the current limit is legally set. They believe it is up to the Storting or the government to decide how low the limit should be. The Supreme Court also found that regular users of cannabis can be convicted of driving under the influence of drugs with the current limit, even if they were not under the influence when they drove. That’s why the limit was introduced The aim of introducing fixed limits in 2012 for THC and other intoxicating and anesthetic agents was to: improve traffic safety get greater equal treatment of drink-driving make it easier for the authorities to enforce the regulations Jørg Mørland led the working group that proposed the current limit values. He has previously told news that the regulations should have a preventive effect. – But it may seem unfair to individuals who will not be affected by these borders, said Mørland. While alcohol breaks down in the body at a steady pace, the half-life of THC becomes progressively longer in the time after consumption. This means that regular users of cannabis run the risk of residues of the substance being stored in the body. – It is also not possible to determine whether a concentration above the criminal liability limit constitutes a residual concentration after previous intake or stems from a recent intake, as a measured concentration is not suitable to say anything about when the intake occurred, writes the Supreme Court in its decision. Expert: Many others pose a greater danger – There is more than enough research that says that one is not affected around the current limit level in such a way that it represents an increased traffic risk. That’s what Per-Ola Rike says. He is a specialist in clinical neuropsychology, and is the only psychologist in Norway with a doctorate in driving and cognitive functions. Rike has worked for nearly 20 years at Sunnaas hospital. Every single week, he assesses whether patients are fit to get behind the wheel. The probability is high that many have lost their driving licence, even if they have not had impaired driving skills, according to Per-Ola Rike. Photo: Sunnaas hospital HF – There are many people with various diseases who drive safely on a daily basis with much greater cognitive challenges than those who drive a car the next day with THC in their blood. He says, among others, it can apply to people who have had a stroke, have long covid symptoms, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), diabetes, ADHD and people who use anti-anxiety drugs or strong painkillers. According to Rike, studies also show that shift workers pose a greater risk in traffic after working many night shifts in a row. – You cannot start taking the slip from shift workers because they are on their way home from work. But they are more dangerous to traffic. Several thousand positive tests Since 2013, just under 28,000 drivers in Norway have had THC detected in their blood. In 2022, THC was detected in the blood of more than 3,700 drivers. This is shown by the data base for the drug statistics for Oslo University Hospital, which news has obtained access to. Only THC was detected in around 11,200 of the samples. The remaining samples also contained other drugs or medicines in addition. Smoked regularly Regular users of cannabis can have traces of THC in their blood for several days after consumption, despite the fact that the intoxication only lasts for a few hours. When Kristian was stopped, he smoked cannabis regularly three to four days a week. The first time he was stopped in a routine drug check in the middle of the Christmas party season. The second time the police followed him, because they had his license plate number registered in their systems. Kristian says he always waited at least eight hours between smoking and getting behind the wheel – even when he was stopped by the police. – Did anyone react to your driving behaviour? – No one. It has never, ever been. And I’ve been doing it the same way for all the years I’ve been driving a taxi. The doctors who examined “Kristian” concluded that he was not under the influence. He was therefore allowed to get behind the wheel of the taxi and continue his working day. Photo: Benjamin Vorland Andersrød / news The blood tests showed that Kristian had a THC concentration of 0.0147 and 0.0164 micromoles per liter of blood respectively. It must correspond to an alcohol content of 0.6. – If I had had a blood alcohol level of 0.6 in the emergency room, I would not have been able to get my driver’s license out of there with me. There is no chance. This is how the current penalty level is 0.0040 micromol THC per liter of blood (should correspond to 0.2 per thousand): Fine 0.0100 micromol THC per liter of blood (should correspond to between 0.5 and 1.2 per thousand): Fine, suspended prison, deprived driving license for at least one year. 0.0300 micromoles of THC per liter of blood (must correspond to over 1.2 per thousand): Unconditional imprisonment, fine, disqualified from driving for at least one year. Source: Regulations on the influence of drugs other than alcohol Court scandal, defender Kristian believes that he was sentenced to 28 days of unconditional imprisonment, because the blood tests showed that he had THC values higher than the criminal limit. He also had to pay NOK 49,000 in fines and court costs. In addition, he was deprived of his driving license for four years. It also caused him to lose his job as a taxi driver, which he had held for over eight years. – It goes against my whole sense of justice, says Kristian’s defender Torkjell Øvrebø. Lawyer Torkjell Øvrebø believes that the current regulations affect people in a completely unreasonable way. Photo: HAAKON ANDERSSEN / Press image Øvrebø believes that the current practice is a legal scandal of great proportions. – There are words that can be misused, but not in this case. We punish and revoke people’s driving licenses without having driven under the influence of drugs. Many experienced negative consequences – It is experienced as a great strain to be punished for something you have not actually done, says André Nilsen. He is chairman of Normal Norway, which is an organization for cannabis users. Chairman of Normal Norway André Nilsen. Photo: Kine F. Jakobsen Last year they conducted a survey among cannabis users who have had their driving license revoked, even though they believed they were not under the influence of drugs. Over 400 people responded to the survey: 4 out of 5 answered that they had greatly weakened trust in the authorities. 4 out of 5 answered that it had a major negative impact on mental health. 1 in 3 answered that they experienced more suicidal thoughts than before they were deprived of their driving licence. – A significant proportion also answered that this affected work opportunities, career opportunities and that they lost their jobs, says Nilsen. – Something wrong with the regulations Expert Per-Ola Rike believes that the probability is high that many people have lost their driving licence, despite the fact that they have not been a traffic hazard at all. – Then there is something wrong with the regulations, as I see it. – Part of the purpose of the regulations is that it should have a preventive effect. Isn’t it then sufficient that one can achieve it? – What should the preventive effect be against? Is it to get people not to consume cannabis, or is it to prevent accidents? If it is assumed that the following day you do not pose a particularly major traffic safety risk, then there is no point in having a set of regulations that should act as a preventive measure for that, says Rike.
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Taxi driver lost his job after having his driver’s license revoked for driving under the influence of cannabis – news Østfold – Local news, TV and radio
